Who helped?: My wife, Carolyn, is a physical therapist familiar with the industry, so she was able to give us information and background from a professional standpoint. She saw a definite opportunity in the market that was not being filled. She also put us in touch with some good referral sources early on through her contacts in the industry.

How was it financed?: When [D’Alan and I] bought in, it was about $25,000 for the franchise. We had gone to a bank for a loan and they told us they didn’t think the business would work. So we financed it out of personal savings. That was one of the best things that happened because now we have no debt.

Where did the idea come from?: It came from my partner, D’Alan Baugh. He and I had talked about some other business opportunities and when he came across this idea, we saw that this was something we needed to do. We found the industry on Franchise.com and then we did a lot of due diligence in terms of selecting Visiting Angels as the place where we would stake our claim.

What have you learned?: You absolutely have to take care of your clients first. This is a 24/7 business and we never close. It takes some technology, as well as policies and procedures that never leave a customer without someone to talk to.

Then there are the business-related things. Our primary focus is to help clients stay healthy and stay at home, but beyond that there is payroll, accounting, and especially dealing with all the regulations to run the business, from getting licensed to taxes to 401(k)s. To deal with it, we’ve developed a relationship with the regulators and the legislators who make and implement the laws.

Annual revenue: $3.1 million

Is it profitable?: Yes, since two months into the business.

Challenges?: We look at continual improvement as a challenge. Every week we have meetings with our staff to figure out what we can do better and how we can be more efficient.

Growth plans?: In March of this year we acquired a franchise covering Anne Arundel County. It was a much smaller franchise and we hope within two years to have it doing 50 percent of what we are doing now [at the first franchise].

Next big idea?: To work with hospitals to reduce their unnecessary readmissions.